SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

THEME: Culture, Dignity, and IdentityCONCEPT: Everything Out of AfricaThe legacies of early African peoples, cultures, and kingdoms and their continued impact today

CONTENT TOPIC: Analyzing and researching the legacies of Early African peoples, cultures, and kingdoms and their continued impact today through fiction and nonfiction textsUNIT TITLE: Why Is There No Peace

Unit Description: To understand the period of expansion of ideas students will first study the historical development and the role of religion in Africa. The introductory unit will include the study of indigenous, Christian and Islamic religions. From the 700s to 1492 ACE, during the period erroneously called the dark ages, a great period of expansion of thought took place. This expansion included expanded philosophic and religious thought, advances in art, architecture, science, math and education. This expansion was the result of Islamic expansion of territory spreading Islamic advances around the known world.

Students will examine the lives of two leading Moslem Leaders and assess how their experiences contributed to the spread of Islam and the expansion of religion and philosophy etc.

Students will formulate opinions on issues related to the relationship between Christians and Muslims and issues of religion politics and philosophy.

Length of Unit: 5 weeks

Enduring Understandings

1. Geography: Geopolitical boundaries are created through conflict and compromise and have implications for political, economic, and social interactions.2. Politics involves competing ideas about the common good and the role of the individual.3. History: Different perspectives affect the interpretation of history.

Essential Questions

I) How do culture and identity influence who we are? II) How do time, culture and history influence works of art and/or the

advancement of science and technology?III) What can I do to positively impact my community?

Common Core Standards

RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.

WHST.9-10.2 Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.

WHST.9-10.2a, b, c, d a. Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings),

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the topic. c. Use varied transitions and sentence structures to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts. d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers.

SL.9-10.4 Present information, findings, and supporting evidence clearly, concisely, and logically such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and task.

Cognitive Skills Attention needed to develop good group work habits:

Selective attention (filtering our distractions, ignoring irrelevant information)

Sustained attention (focus on material for long periods of time) Dividing attention (focus on more than one thing at a time) Critical thinking skills

Executive functions Plan Flexibility: change direction if not working; adopt multiple approaches Strategy use: ability to reflect on strategy and select appropriate strategy

Thinking skills Reasoning about concrete items versus abstract ideas Creativity Analyzing/evaluating arguments Developing a logical argument Inductive reasoning: using specific examples/observations and forming a

more general principal Deductive reasoning: use stated general premise to reason about specific

examples Hypothesis testing: test ideas through experience or manipulation of

variables Appreciation: recognition of the value of something Responding to novelty: ability to react appropriately in a novel situation

Self-reflection: ability to think about oneself in relation to the material

Assessments(F) Formative This unit contains multiple formal and informal formative assessments. Formative

assessments for this unit consist of guided reading and writing exercises, Cornell

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

Notes (with summaries), marking the text activities, checks of group and individual intermediate goals, reflections after group work/meetings, summaries of selected text(s), exit slips, and expository writing samples in response to short, informational texts/documents will used in this unit.

(S) Summative Summative performance assessments are ways to measure students’ knowledge and skills that go beyond asking them to answer multiple choice, true/false, or fill in the blank questions. Students will be asked to complete a hands-on task (up to 45 minutes) or one that can be completed over several class periods. Together, the assessment task and the scoring method comprise the performance assessment. The performance assessment for this unit consists of multiple tasks and scoring methods.

Groups (of three students) will present a multimedia presentation on their individual religious group and its relationship with the others. (from three total group choices) accompanied by an individual essay that explains how their group was impacted, both positively and negatively, by a variety of power dynamics during their historical time period. Students’ products will further explain the social, economic, and cultural relationship of their chosen group to the current social, economic, and cultural environment in the Mediterranean World including especially Spain.

Text/Resources Spread of Ideas1) The study of the intellectual thought of the Muslims and their effect on

Christianity, on Africa, and subsequently Africa and Islam on Europe. a) Trade and the Spread of Islam in Africa

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tsis/hd_tsis.htm2) Development of formalized education out of Africa (universities and libraries)

a) Timbuktu i) Timbuktu - city of legends

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1911321.stm ii) Leo Africanus: Description of Timbuktu from The Description of

Africa (1526) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/leo_afri.asp iii) Important Sites: The University of Timbuktu

http://insideislam.wisc.edu/2012/03/important-sites-the-university-of-timbuktu/

iv) Saladin: a Benevolent Man, Respected by both Muslims and Christians By Faysal Burhan http://www.islamic-study.org/saladin_salahu_ad-deen.htm

v) The Crusades in Egypt http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/crusades.htm

vi) Saladin http://www.thenationofislam.org/Saladin.html vii) Saladin, Story of a Hero

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/197003/saladin-

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

story.of.a.hero.htm viii) Saladin Takes Jerusalem From The Christians

http://history-world.org/saladin_takes_jerusalem.htm ix) Ibn Sina http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/sina/art/ibn%20Sina-

REP.htm x) St. Thomas Aquinas and Islamic Influence by Ijaz Ahmad

http://callingchristians.com/2013/02/23/st-thomas-aquinas-and-islamic-influence/

b) Moors in Andalusia, i) A virtual walking tour of Alhambra

http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200604/alhambra/default.htm

c) Islam, the Moors and education i) Historical Evidence Regarding the Libraries of Muslim Spain

http://everything2.com/title/Historical+Evidence+Regarding+the+Libraries+of+Muslim+Spain

ii) Islam Spain and the history of technology History of Technology http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/pabacker/history/islam.htm

b) The impact that African society had on Europe a) The Impact of Islamic Civilization and Culture in Europe During the Crusades

http://idosi.org/wjihc/wjihc2(3)12/7.pdf Lion Of Mali: The Hajj of Mansa Musa by David Tschanz,

http://www.academia.edu/1593503/Lion_Of_Mali_The_Hajj_of_Mansa_Musa (You can download the story for free after signing up for Academia.edu which is also free and requires no obligation of any kind)

Various readings from http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/students/curriculum/

A Christian/Moslem Debate Of The 12th Century http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/christ-muslim-debate.asp

A Short History of Spain and Portugal (Last paragraph of chapter 3 and all of chapter 4) http://aero-comlab.stanford.edu/jameson/world_history/A_Short_History_of_Spain_and_Portugal.pdf

Medieval Sourcebook: Ibn Abd-el-Hakem: The Islamic Conquest of Spain http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/conqspain.asp

Medieval Sourcebook: Al Maggari: Tarik's Address to His Soldiers, 711 CE, from The Breath of Perfumes http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/711Tarik1.asp

Medieval Sourcebook: The Poetry of the Spanish Moors, Selections http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/moorishpoetry.asp

Christian Martyrs in Muslim Spain http://libro.uca.edu/martyrs/martyrs.htm ( A complete book that can be

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

used for research)

Tolerance and the Re-Conquest of Islamic Spain Sebastian Münster. Cosmographiae universalis lib. VI. (Basel: 1554). and Moorish Architecture Juan Alvarez de Colmenar. Annales d'Espagne et de Portugal. (Amsterdam: 1741). http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/John_Carter_Brown_Library/islamic/pages/spain.html

Beautiful Moorish Architecture http://www.corearchitect.co.uk/beautiful-moorish-architecture/

Moorish Architecture http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/moorish-art/?ar_a=1

If you want to learn more about the rich diversity of religious traditions in the world, you should check these web-sites:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/index.shtml http://www.omsakthi.org/religions.html

To learn more about the Coptic Church you can visit the following websites: http://courses.washington.edu/disisme/Our%20Encyclopaedia/C4798FAE-

E39F-4C60-A26B-3F50224F4C5C.html http://www.pitts.emory.edu/Archives/text/rg005.html http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/africa/nigeria/

religion.htmlDrinking the Word of God: Expressions of Faith and Well-Being in Two West African Communities

http://museum.msu.edu/?q=node/73 For more information about Aksum you can connect to the following websites:

http://www.bu.edu/remotesensing/research/completed/us-ethiopia- planning/gallery/

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/nubia1.html For more information on Santeria and Vodou, visit these websites:

http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/voodoo/overview.htm http://lima.osu.edu/academics/writing/WinningWorks/firstHaitian

%20Voodo.htm http://academics.smcvt.edu/africanart/Katie/Katie%20M/

religion_of_the_orishas.htmAfrica: Islam and Indigenous Religions http://www.afrikaworld.net/afrel/islam-afritradition.htm Can the African Christian Problem Ever Be Resolved? by Rev. Dr Prince Conteh http://archived.oikoumene.org/en/programmes/interreligiousdialogue/current-dialogue/magazine/no-49-july-2007/can-the-african-christian-problem-ever-be-resolved-rev-dr-prince-conteh.html To learn more about the artist and this art tradition, please visit this website:

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

https://www.h-net.org/~etoc/ Maps

Map Religions in Africa, http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/regional-geography-of-the-world-globalization-people-and-places/section_10/dca46c4515084a82a51cc30a8d60ca18.jpg

b) Spread of Islam in Africa http://www.maps.com/ref_map.aspx?pid=11393

Learning Activities

Students will read and discuss the history of and the impact of the three key religions in Africa for understanding the role of religion and the spread of ideas in the Mediterranean world and beyond. Africa was key to the development of Islamic and western thought through the expansion of the Moors into Spain and through the resistance to the European Crusades. In order to fully understand the role of Africa students first need to understand the role of religion in Africa and the roots of both conflict and cooperation that the Islamic expansion engendered. This Launch lesson looks at the three religions in question in-depth to obtain a better understanding of how they played critical roles in the expansion of ideas throughout the Mediterranean world. Students will further consider the significance of the contributions of these religions on African and African American cultures. Students will read about and research the significant role religion plays in helping to shape identity. Students will discuss and come to a consensus of what the term “identity” means in the context of a cultural, ethnic or racial group and discuss how religion does or does not help to construct an identity, and whether or not religion can be used to preserve “identity.” Ultimately the students will be required to create an argument as to the role of religion and what it means to a student’s sense of identityStudents will investigate and research the conflict between the religions

Week 1 Students will look at the three religions in question in-depth to obtain a better understanding of how they played critical roles in the expansion of ideas throughout the Mediterranean world. Students will further consider the significance of the contributions of these religions on African and African American cultures. Students will read about and research the significant role religion plays in helping to shape identity. Students will discuss and come to a consensus of what the term “identity” means in the context of a cultural, ethnic or racial group and discuss how religion does or does not help to construct an identity, and whether or not religion can be used to preserve “identity.” Ultimately the students will be required to create an argument as to the role of religion and what it means to a student’s sense of identity

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

Week 2 Reconstructing a conversationStudents should be encouraged to recall the contexts and perspectives of each religion. What concerns did they share and what were their differences? What were the seed of conflict between the religions?

Students will Investigate:

The causes and consequences of Islamic expansion and the growing conflict with Christendom. Including biographies of Saladin, Ibn Sina and the influence of Islam on the Christian Teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Week 3 Students will begin developing thesis statements and use essay writing rubric to plan essay.

-To enhance reading skills, teacher will offer individualized and whole group instruction. She will refer to previous lessons on how to learn vocabulary, using graphic organizer in which students associate an image with a term.

-At the end of each week, students take part in Micro Labs or Rounds to (in Visible Thinking book)-

- http://www.nsrfharmony.org/protocol/doc/microlabs.pdf

-Add Ladder of Feedback

By the end of the week: Research Notes Due

Week 4 Writing

-Thesis statement lesson: Work on developing your project’s thesis.-Citations and Annotations lesson: Record citations and annotations for your sources.-Write your Title, Introduction with Thesis, Background, Turning Point, Outcome/Significance Sections.-Record citations and annotations for your sources.

- Type your sections into Word and save as Rich Text File.

Week 5 Peer Review, Editing, and presentations of papers

-Introduction to Website Editor & Sample Site: Provide How to Worksheet.

AppendixReadings Background Information

Over the course of the twentieth century, kente has moved far beyond the borders of Ghana. The brightly patterned cloth has come to convey a powerful message of African unity and its influence has spread across the Atlantic. In the last several

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

decades, it has become one of the most popular symbols of African American identity. On both sides of the ocean, then, kente is recognized as a proclamation of a proud association with the rich heritage of the African continent. How did this expanded use of kente come about?

The Pan African Movement: Giving Voice to StruggleThe global spread of kente and its transformation into a potent symbol were preceded by the emergence of the Pan African Movement in the early twentieth century. As the name of the movement suggests, its aim was to unify Africans and African Americans in their struggles for enhanced social and political power. This desire for solidarity was the logical response to historical forces operative on both sides of the Atlantic. Throughout Africa, people began to rise up against their colonizers in a quest for political independence and freedom. At the same time in the United States African Americans—as well as women and laborers—sought expanded rights and organized to make their voices heard. The Pan African Movement gave both Africans and African Americans an ideological basis for their respective struggles.

Expressions of Pan African unity were manifest in the formation of political parties, conferences, and organizations and in publications where issues of common interest to Africans and African Americans were discussed. A series of Pan African Congresses held between 1901 and 1945 brought together important Black leaders, such as the African American intellectual W. E. B. Du Bois (1868- 1963) [SLIDE 12, FIGURE 4.1], and Kwame Nkrumah (1909-1972) [SLIDE n, FIGURE 4-2], an African of Akan origins who would later become the first president of the newly independent nation of Ghana (see biographies in LESSON SEVEN). In the United States, the movement was further fueled by the development of a number of important organizations, the most famous of these being the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), established in 1909, and still an active force in the Civil Rights movement. Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey also inspired many African Americans with the establishment of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1920. This organization promoted Garvey's philosophy of "Africa for the Africans" and supported his "Back to Africa" movement.

Kente Cloth: Symbol of a MovementWithin the context of the Pan African Movement, African and African American leaders established suitable symbols to represent their beliefs. Marcus Garvey articulated a visual language for those who identified with Africa by announcing that red, black, and green—symbolizing blood, skin color, and new life, respectively— officially represented "the colors of the Negro Race." Kwame Nkrumah, following in the footsteps of W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, among others, led Ghana to independence on March 6, 1957—the first nation in Africa to regain its independence in the twentieth century. From Ethiopia, who largely avoided colonial domination, Ghana borrowed and inverted the green, yellow, and red colors of the

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

Ethiopian flag for its own national flag and added a black star, the "lode star" of African freedom. Twelve other African countries who were to regain their independence in the next three years also adopted this color scheme. These same colors are also found in the kente cloth of the Asante called Oyokoman, the single most popular cloth pattern among Ghanaians. The association of Oyokoman's colors, then, with the Pan African colors of red, green, and gold has enhanced its popularity to the extent that Oyokoman itself is seen as a symbol of African unity.

Unquestionably, Garvey's ideas on color symbolism affected the thoughts and actions of Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, who contributed, perhaps most profoundly, to the global visibility of kente as a symbol of African identity. During his historic visits with President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Washington, D.C., in 1958 and 1960, Nkrumah and his entourage wore kente often [FIGURE 4.3]; in fact, Ebony covered the visit in the article "The Return of Saturday's Child," illustrated with thirty-one photographs, thirteen of them showing Nkrumah in kente. In 1963, African American W. E. B. Du Bois traveled to Africa at Nkrumah's invitation and wore kente when he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Ghana [SLIDE 12]. Today, far from Ghana, in the East African nation of Tanzania, a portrait of former Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere shows him wearing kente cloth instead of his own regional or national dress. By choosing kente for important and highly visible occasions, these and other leaders have helped to establish it as a potent symbolic image for Africans and African Americans alike.

From Holidays to Everyday: The Popular Embrace of KenteConsidering the model set by leaders who have worn kente as a sign of their ties to Africa, it is no wonder that kente was taken up by broader audiences both in Africa and the United States. Originally reserved for royalty and the elite in Ghana, it is now available to almost everyone who has the desire to incorporate it into his or her lifestyle. While the use of kente by both African and African American citizens first suggested an investment in the beliefs and messages of the Pan African Movement, the more popular it has become, the more generalized its message.

Kente is now used in a variety of circumstances that differ dramatically from its original context. While the cloth worn by a chief is carefully woven in separate strips and sewn together to be elegantly draped by its royal wearer, contemporary kente' inspired clothing is often printed (not hand woven) and sewn into fitted garments to be worn by the general public [FIGURE 4.4]. Both woven kente and printed versions are used for display purposes today, as articles for the home, decorative backdrops, or to add a special African flair to a setting. The cloth and references to it are incorporated into a wide array of African American celebrations, including Kwanzaa [SLIDE 17, FIGURE 4.5], Martin Luther King Day [FIGURE 4.6], Black History Month, Juneteenth, and others, as a fundamental symbol of a proud African American identity.

Kente cloth and its distinctive patterns can be also found adorning an array of mundane objects—from ties and shoes, to balloons and beach balls, to backpacks

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

and chairs. A careful look around any city, especially in African American communities, should begin to reveal just how popular the cloth has become. Kente's popular symbolism is just as varied as its users and its usage, but it continues to communicate a complex and dynamic African identity.

Kwame Nkrumah(1909-1972)

Kwame Nkrumah became the first president of the West African Republic of Ghana in 1960, following its independence from Britain in 1957. In fact, he is recognized for his help in achieving that political emancipation from British colonial rulership. Before and after Ghanaian independence, Nkrumah was a powerful politician who spent much of his energy fighting to liberate his country, and all of Africa, from colonial powers and he remains an important figure in the history of African independence movements.

Despite Nkrumah's monumental achievements, his beginnings were somewhat humble. He is thought to have been born in 1909, in a little village near the coast of Ghana, a member of the Akan subgroup called Nzima. His father was a goldsmith. When he finished his studies near home, Nkrumah became a teacher and then the headmaster of a local school. In 1935, relatives gathered together money to send him to the United States, where he had been accepted at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He stayed in the United States for ten years, studying theology, education, and philosophy and doing odd jobs to support himself. It was during this time that Nkrumah began to understand the principles of effective political organization and was inspired by various philosophers, such as Marcus Garvey. He also met W. E. B. Du Bois and worked with him to make the 1945 session of the Pan African Congress a success in its focus on the decolonization of Africa.

Nkrumah returned to Ghana in 1947 to join a political party whose goal was achieving independence for the Gold Coast. When his views turned out to be more radical than those of others, Nkrumah broke away to establish his own party known as the Convention People's Party (CPP) in 1949. Under Nkrumah, the CPP contested elections, drafted a constitution that insisted on complete self-government for the country, and encouraged the people to protest the British controlled government. After being rejected, challenged, and imprisoned on various charges, Nkrumah began to make inroads, winning himself visits with the governor and then eventually becoming prime minister in 1952.

In 1954, a new constitution made room for an all-African cabinet, and a directly elected assembly was instituted. Despite continuing opposition, Nkrumah made a formal request for Ghana's independence; independence was officially regained March 6, 1957. On July I, I960, Nkrumah became his country's first president.

Nkrumah's real strength was in foreign affairs. He saw that Ghana's independence could be used as a model for liberating the entire continent of Africa. In 1963, he wrote a book called Africa Must Unite as a call for Pan African unity. To hasten the

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

process, he called for a meeting of the independent African states, as well as the All African People's Conference and created the Organization of African Unity; these efforts partially fulfilled his dream of continental government and signaled his role in encouraging African nationalism on a global level. Furthermore, his purposeful and political use of African dress, particularly kente, had a strong influence on the way he was perceived by his international audience. Adorned in distinctly Ghanaian cloth, Nkrumah rode the crest of the rising tide of interest in and support for Back to Africa movements. During a visit to the United States following Ghanaian independence, Nkrumah and his entourage were welcomed by president Dwight D. Eisenhower and other Washington dignitaries. Photographs from this visit showing Nkrumah in his distinctive clothing were immediately published in popular magazines like Life, giving kente and its association with a proud and strong Africa an undeniable visibility.

Unfortunately, Nkrumah's concern with foreign affairs caused him to neglect the domestic situation in Ghana.

Even though his early leadership focused on the country's education, communication, agriculture, and industrialization; within a short time Ghanaian citizens became disillusioned with Nkrumah's regime. Problems of corruption, inefficiency, and ostentation were not addressed by Nkrumah, who was increasingly seen by some as a unresponsive dictator whose administration punished those who opposed its order With political and economic problems increasing, his leadership ended in 1966 with a coup d’état led by Ghana's army and police force. Despite his controversial presidency which left a legacy of financial and social problems, many still recognize Kwame Nkrumah for his leadership, which was instrumental in the decolonization process of Ghana and all of Africa, and for his role in encouraging support for African nationalism all around the world. Today, Nkrumah's reputation has been fully restored.

W.E.B. Du Bois(1868-1963)

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was perhaps the most influential African American leader during the first half of the twentieth century. Motivated by his militant refusal to accept the inferior role mapped out for Blacks historically, Du Bois spent most of his life making important steps in the struggle to secure civil rights. He deeply opposed government-imposed racial segregation, while he argued in favor of Black "voluntary segregation," as well as pride and self-help, as an effective means of organization and advancement for African Americans. Du Bois wrote a number of books and organized people with the basic intention of reinforcing the importance of political consciousness for African Americans and Africans, alike.

Born in Massachusetts of French, Dutch, and Black ancestry, Du Bois recognized and took pride in his African heritage above all. He was very successful in school,

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

winning scholarships that took him to the American south and to Europe. Along the way, he took an interest in political economy, history, sociology, and African American studies, in particular Before he was thirty years old, he had earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University, becoming the first African American to do so. Later as a professor; he continued his own studies and began to make his views more known through his efforts.

For instance, in the interest of informing all Americans about how he perceived African Americans, Du Bois wrote a book entitled The Souls of Black Folk in 1903. Along with Carter G. Woodson, the African American scholar who founded Negro History Week in 1926 (later changed to Black History Month in 1976), Du Bois worked tirelessly to elevate the public consciousness of a proud African legacy and the important contributions of African Americans in the development of the American nation.Du Bois played a primary role in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an organization that still fights for the rights of African Americans today. He was a secretary for that organization, which was established in 1909, and became an editor for its newspaper; The Crisis, which he used to communicate his sometimes controversial ideas to others. At times his views were so radical even the directors of the NAACP opposed them. In fact, Du Bois was finally dismissed from the organization in 1948—almost forty years after its beginning—for his controversial politics.

At the same time that he was involved with the NAACP Du Bois' interests broadened—he started to think more about Africans outside of the United States, as well. As a result he helped to initiate the Pan African Movement, which promoted the advancement of Black populations in Africa and around the world. Between 1919 and 1945, he organized and participated in a series of very successful meetings known as the Pan African Congresses. These important meetings were attended by many delegates, including some from Africa, who discussed plans for securing a better status for Africa and Africans in the world.

In the 1950s, Du Bois was jailed briefly for his left-wing politics and was criticized by many African American leaders and civil rights organizations. In 1961, Du Bois became so disillusioned by these experiences that he moved to Ghana at the invitation of President Kwame Nkrumah. There, he served as the director of an African Encyclopedia project and was awarded several honorary degrees. Du Bois became a Ghanaian citizen and lived out the last two years of his life in Ghana. Even those who opposed him in his time would agree that his revolutionary ideas were essential in the ultimate advancement of African Americans and Africans.

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SOCIAL SCIENCE9th Grade Interdisciplinary African And African American Studies Quarter 3 Unit Plan

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